Statistical monitoring systems to inform policy decision-making,and new data sources

Statistical monitoring to inform policy decision-making is becoming increasingly important at the regional, national, European and international levels such as the United Nations SDG or the German government's strategy on well-being and the good life. Both these and other policy strategies and initiatives that are more restricted in scope are increasingly being linked to statistical indicators. The majority of these indicators are provided or called for by national statistical agencies. This is because official statistics provide a guarantee of objectivity, neutrality and a scientific basis.

This article presents an overview of emerging requirements for statistical indicators, as well as applications and publications on new data sources(often referred to as Big Data) that are relevant to official statistics. Generally speaking, Big Data represent a promising data source for official statistics. Nevertheless, some challenges still have to be met before they can be mainstreamed in official statistics.